Barricades tested at Mizner Park concerts

April 7, 2011|By Rebekah Monson, Sun Sentinel

BOCA RATON — Mizner Park was awash in tie-dye, jam rock and happy hippies Wednesday night for the sold-out Furthur concert, but many fans gave the city mixed reviews on its first major concert at the amphitheater.

"I think it's great that they're having concerts again, and I love coming out here, but I liked it a lot more before they had barricades and you could drink a little bit," said Mitch Gale, of Palm Beach Gardens, who listened to the show from the park in the median across from the amphitheater.

The northern portion of the median was surrounded with metal bike racks, and security guards and police monitored two entrances at the south end of the barricaded area to enforce a ban on coolers and alcohol.

The City Council in January approved a test of the barricades to help police enforce the open-container law and to appease concert promoters who view crowds in the median as lost ticket revenue.

"The Police Department and private security were very prepared, and there were really no issues that I heard about other than a few EMT calls, which are normal for this kind of event," said Chrissy Biagiotti, cultural facilities manager.

About 18 officers patrolled outside the amphitheater, no open-container citations were issued and six arrests were made, mostly on drug charges, police spokesman Mark Economou said.

Because of the new rules, police officers asked people to get rid of drinks rather than issue tickets, he said.

"Things went as smoothly as we had hoped that they could go, and I would say that almost everyone was happy with the results," Biagiotti said. "The band, the crowds, the promoters — everywhere I looked people were smiling."

The city spent about $900,000 to take over the amphitheater in October, and has spent more than $500,000 for repairs to make it a viable concert venue again.

Fans and officials alike praised the return of concerts to the amphitheater, but many concertgoers said the barricades detracted from the atmosphere at Mizner Park.

"There's nobody here," said Cindy Craven, of Plantation, who came to listen to the show from the median. "You usually cannot walk in a half hour after the show is supposed to start. It would be packed. It's empty. It's totally empty."

Others were confused about the barricade policy.

"We were told that that we couldn't drink in that area, and that this was the drinking area," said Jennifer Oliver, of Delray Beach, who shared a cooler of beer and food with several friends south of the barricaded area. "We think it would make more sense to have the drinkers up front and the families back here."

A few people circulated a flier urging concertgoers to contact the City Council to oppose the barricades.

"This is public space that the residents of this city pay for," said Bill Trinka, of Boca Raton, who passed out fliers. "People don't like being treated like cattle and put behind these barricades."

The mayor and members of the City Council said they would discuss the concert and the barricades Monday at the Community Redevelopment Agency meeting.

"We're going through this trial to try to figure out what will work best for everyone," Mayor Susan Whelchelsaid. "We're going to keep our eyes and ears open to what people have to say about it, but we do have an open-container law, and we will enforce that law."

Councilman Anthony Majhess said he still is hopeful that the city can find a way to enforce the law that doesn't involve blocking off public space.

"When I looked out there, I saw that people weren't going into the [barricaded area], they were just listening on the sidewalks outside," he said. "I want the amphitheater to be a success, but I still think the barricades are unattractive and uninviting, and I'm not sure they solve anything."

The barricades will be up again during the Harry Connick Jr. concert on Saturday. Tickets still are available, Biagiotti said.

"I think the police presence will be less for Harry Connick, but it's important to be consistent early on so that people get used to this," she said. "But I don't know that we'll need to put up the fence every single concert. It's a learning process."

Future barricading likely will be determined on a case-by-case basis, she said.

"We're really not trying to end the fun out there, but the fun is in having the concerts here at the amphitheater," Biagiotti said. "We can't get the concerts here if we don't get that area under control."